DEFINING YOUR GOALS

There are 3 important questions that need to be answered when making any large changes to your routine. Whether it be to working out or to losing weight or whatever, you first have to assess a few things beforehand.

Before starting anyone with a new flexible diet, they are asked 3 very important questions.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO BEGIN A FLEXIBLE DIET?

Most people want to try flexible dieting (aka IIFYM, If It Fits Your Macros) because they get to work on their health and fitness goals while eating ice cream and Pop Tarts. But the bigger question within that question is, "Have you done your research on WTF flexible dieting is and how it works to help you reach your goals?" Why choose Flexible Dieting? Why not Paleo? Zone? Why not just count your calories?

Be sure that this new routine is going to be worth your time. This goes for anything that you decide to start doing too- Don't start something unless you know WHY you're doing it. Have you done the necessary work to understand what you are starting and why you are choosing this as a means to help you reach your goals?

When I first started flexible dieting, I didn't rush to a coach asking for macros. I read. I read and I read and I read. I downloaded an e-book by Krissy Mae Cagney (sadly she will stop selling her e-books in August, so get it now! Use Code: "doughnuts" for $20 off "FD 2.0: A Flexible Nutrition Philosophy for the Modern Athlete. No, I'm not sponsored, I just believe in it), and truly understood what flexible dieting entailed. Even STILL, I listen to podcasts, I read, etc... It's so so important that you remain educated about what the hell you're doing when you're counting your macros and WHY you're doing it.

DO YOUR WORK BEFORE ASKING ANYONE FOR MACROS. 

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

• "I want to lose weight." - Okay, how much weight?
• "I want to 'tone up'." - Well, what's your definition of "tone up"?
• "I'd love to get rid of my love handles." - What does that mean? Get rid?
• "I want to lift more weight." - How much weight? Doing what lift? Squat? Snatch?

SPECIFICS are key when setting your goals. You want to leave no question as to what it means to reach your goal. What will the scale say when you tell yourself, "I did it!" What will you look like? What size pants will you be able to wear? How much weight will you be able to lift? How fast will you be able to run a mile? Know what your goal will look like when you achieve it.

I'll be honest, when I first started flexible dieting, I didn't define my goals. I started simply to "see what would happen" and I lucked out at discovering the best thing ever. For some people, this might be how you start- JUST DON'T ASK FOR MACROS; CALCULATE YOUR OWN AND TRY IT OUT.  I guarantee that there isn't a flexible dieting coach out there that wants to spend their time calculating macros for someone who's experimenting.

SO: define your goals and know why you are flexible dieting. Goals are the compass that steers your dieting ship.

WHY ARE YOUR GOALS IMPORTANT TO YOU?

This is by far THE MOST IMPORTANT question to answer in pretty much everything that you do. Every choice we make in life stems from our core set of personal values. Most of time though, the answer to this question is very superficial.

• "Because I want to lose weight."
• "Because I want to lift more."
• "Because I want to learn how to eat well"

Those are great, but they sound like goals to me. Vague ones at best, but still goals. So again, WHY ARE YOUR GOALS IMPORTANT TO YOU? What are your values?

There are so many layers to this question that many people don't realize. An example for you:

For some people, losing weight is important because they are pre-diabetic and on the verge of their doctor putting them on medication to help manage this. In this case, this person would tell me,

"My goal of losing weight is important because I don't want to be diabetic."

Okay, let's dive... Why don't you want diabetes?

"Because I don't want to become insulin dependent"

...Why don't you want to become insulin dependent?

"Because I don't want to have to lug around all the medication and remember to take it and have to pack in every where I go... and if I forget it, it could be dangerous and I'm at risk for a lot more things..."

... So you want to live a life, free of insulin dependency. WHY?

"I want to be able to spend time with my family, my kids, and my friends without having to worry about taking insulin."

...WHY?

"I value being a good husband, father, friend. I value integrity and want to show that hard work (flexible dieting) is better than taking a short cut (fad diet). I value respect and want to be a demonstration of self-respect for my health. I value..."

See where I'm going with this? Answering this question gets into the nitty gritty of it all and it's ultimately what DRIVES the success of a new flexible diet. Falling off your new flexible diet? About to stuff a Pop Tart in your mouth that will take you 100g over your set of carbs? Ask yourself: 

WHY ARE MY GOALS IMPORTANT TO ME and IS IT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS POP TART (...or whatever you're about to eat). 

Most of the time, flexible dieting goals stem from wanting to "be happy in one's own skin" and that means a lot of different things for a lot of different people. Whatever this means to YOU, you simply have to realize it, own it, and make it more important than your former way of eating. 

Remember, goals steer the ship, values drive your success. So what are your goals? What do you value?

THE WHOLE POINT OF FLEXIBLE DIETING

When I started following a flexible diet, I had no idea the impact it would have on the way I eat, the way I look at food/nutrition, and my relationship with all of it.

You could say I've always been mindful of what I ate, and as a young child, I was given the standard set of US Government education on the food pyramid: Grain in abundance, sweets and fats as sparingly as possible. I knew fruits and vegetables were good for you and red meat was considered bad.

Now, there's certainly a LOT I could say about the school system and I could give my opinion about what we are teaching to our children these days, but I'll leave that for a different time. The gist of it all, though, is that what I was taught as a young child in school is so far from what "healthy" really is.  

I kept this whole "food pyramid" mindset pretty much all through high school. I once believed that Powerbars would increase my athletic performance, so I would eat a bunch before game day, on game day, and everywhere in between. I once believed that red meat would give me a heart attack, so I gave up red meat. I once believed that protein would make me "bulky", so I gave up meat all together (it didn't last long). I once believed that rice would make me fat- and let me tell you, as an Asian, this was HEARTBREAKING. I once believed that gluten was the devil, so I caved into being true Paleo for about 2 weeks until my wallet and my stomach were screaming at me to stop. (#disclaimer: I'm NOT against Paleo). So you can see how warped my sense of nutrition was and the effect food had on my mind.  

The female mind is also a tricky one. We are led to believe that "skinny" is good, "fat" is bad, blah blah blah. We are also led to believe that eating less means we lose weight, cardio burns fat, and planks and crunches give us abs.  I remember being done with collegiate sports (I played Lacrosse for UC Davis) and thinking, "Well WTF am I supposed to do now?..." The little knowledge I had up until that point (although I thought I had a TON) led me to joining a globo-gym. I would go to the gym about 3x a week, hop on the elliptical and go until I couldn't stand it anymore, which was about 30 minutes at the most. Anything more than 30 minutes was a mental accomplishment for me. After that, I'd MAYBE do some tricep pull downs, who knows. I only knew what to do from my days of playing lacrosse and being required to do strength training, which I thought was so dumb at the time. Why strength train? It has nothing to do with my sport! ...you're starting to see how completely inept I was with all of this...

After starting CrossFit, I was in better shape than ever before (yes, even better than during my years as a collegiate athlete), and I wanted to take my nutrition to the next level. 

I had read a blog post by Nicole Capurso that first introduced me to Flexible Dieting (see my "About Me section for the link to this post!). It really intrigued me, so I decided to try it out so I calculated my macros and hit them every day for 2 weeks. I really had no expectations for this, but just knew that I wanted to see how it affected my performance in the gym. Could I really "get abs" if I changed my nutrition??

After 2 weeks, I didn't really notice a difference in the mirror. I wasn't weighing myself or anything, but what I do remember is feeling fueled at the gym. After another couple of weeks, I started getting comments from my friends and gym mates. "Tiff, you're looking lean!" And after another few weeks and a random picture of me on social media with my abs showing, people were asking me what the hell I was doing to look like that. And while I didn't mind at ALL getting these compliments, my evolution as a flexible dieter and as a mindful eater led me to realize that flexible dieting has given me so much more that just a lean body. The lean body is awesome, don't get me wrong, but what I've learned from this entire process is worth so much more than a body fat %.

FLEXIBLE DIETING HAS GIVEN ME CONTROL

Whether you want to blame my need for control on my gender or my Type A personality, everyone desires control over their food. No one wants to feel guilty after eating cake and everyone wishes they knew exactly how certain types of foods and certain volumes of food affect their body. WELCOME FLEXIBLE DIETING.

I no longer feel slave to food...EVER. The reason people feel so anxious or guilty about food is because they don't understand it. Flexible dieting has allowed me to actually learn what the hell a macro is and how each type plays such a vital role in how my body is fueled, how it recovers, and how it feels. I know WHY I feel crappy, or bloated, or whatever. I understand the consequences of not hitting my macros- sometimes it's okay, and other times, it's not, BUT I know exactly what to do to recover from a horrible weekend.

I also look at food completely differently now. I don't look at ice cream as ice cream- When I look at ice cream, I see carbs, fat, and a teeny bit of protein. When I look at a doughnut, I see carbs and fats. When I see honey, I see carbs. When I look at broccoli, I see fiber. I no longer see foods as I once did, but rather, I see them as energy sources that I allocate my macros to each day.

Flexible dieting is a long term way of eating for me that allows me to manipulate my body composition (to a certain degree). It constantly changes and it constantly evolves. When I first started flexible dieting in September 2014, I was eating 2000 calories at 35/35/30%. I ate, my body became balanced, and I got lean. My knowledge of why my body changed and how it did was minimal at best. I just knew that I had found a system.  In January 2015, I increased my calories to 2200 with the same ratios, still not understanding exactly why, but I had lost about 5 lbs, so my rationale was to increase my calories to maintain my weight. In May 2015, I decided to drop to the 58kg (~127 lbs) weight class for Olympic weightlifting, so again, I changed my caloric intake to start dropping weight. I achieved 58 kgs on a 1650 calorie diet (~ 7 lbs) in about 1 month. Now (June 2015), I am on a reverse diet (slowly increasing calories with minimal weight gain... specifics to come in a later post) eating 1923 calories while still sitting at 58 kgs/127 lbs and ~13% body fat... I can't tell you how sold I am on the science behind food and our bodies.

Flexible dieting is an amazing and SIMPLE way to track what you eat, understand how  your body reacts, and allows you to make adjustments- THERE'S NOTHING MORE CONCRETE THAN THAT! Sure, you can "eat clean" and not measure anything, which works for many people, but for me, knowing exactly what goes into my body has made me understand SO much. I still have a lot to learn, but I'd say the basics have gotten me pretty far.

So when you really sit down to think about what the whole point of flexible dieting is, it's not necessarily to gain or lose weight. For me, anyway, the point of flexible dieting is expanding your knowledge to be able to have control over what was previously NOT. It's achieving a psychological sense of well-being and fueling your body right.

...and eating ice cream while keeping my abs :)

On left: January 2015 at WODapalooza. On right: This morning (June 2015) after a full breakfast. Maintaining at 127 lbs on a reverse diet. Flexible dieting and knowledge... gotta love it. 

A SMALL ANNOUNCEMENT

Believe it or not, groups of people interested in starting a flexible diet with Eat Ice Cream Get Abs has been filled through AUGUST!! Names are even being added to the future months and I can't describe how excited I am that people want to learn more and see how flexible dieting can help them achieve their goals- it really makes me smile!

Because EIGA is gaining popularity and more and more people are interested in following a flexible diet, I want to be sure that I fill my role in helping people to the best of my ability. In order to do this, I've realized that I need to change how I take on future EIGAers.

With that said, I will be putting additional groups past August on hold while I renovate the system of Eat Ice Cream Get Abs.  

I am so so so sorry if you weren't yet able to begin a group with me, but fear not! The acceptance of future EIGAers will return SOON. Until then, I encourage you to try flexible dieting out yourself and give it a go!! That's exactly how I started, and if I can do it, anyone can!

It all starts with calculating your macros, and if you follow the calculators from the blog, you're headed in the right direction. Calculate, try it out, and reassess after 3 weeks. If you've gained and you're trying to lose, then cut your calories. If you've lost and you're trying to gain, add more calories.  It's really a lot of trial an error, but it's all scientific and logical. There's no magic to it, there are no tricks. It's just diligence, consistency, and time.

I'm still available to answer any questions, so email me if you'd like! I hope to chat with all of you that are interested soon!

"Eat Mean, Get Lean, Eat Ice Cream"

~ Tiffany Christmas

LET'S TALK SOME SH*T FOR A SECOND...

I'm not going to lie, I could talk about poop for a while... I'm never shy about the subject and it's always great getting a chuckle out of people. But why do I love talking about poop?!

Poop is such a great indicator for health! 

Besides the crappy (pun TOTALLY intended) feeling you get when you don't feel well, your poop can tell you what the hell is up. And on the flip side, poop can be a colorful experience if you've eaten a decent amount of beets...

But why should you be concerned about poop? As it relates to flexible dieting, poop lets us answer the question, "Are we eating enough FIBER?!" 

FIBER

As defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, fiber  or “dietary fiber,” is sometimes called “roughage.” It’s the part of food that can’t be broken down during digestion. So because it moves through your digestive system “undigested,” it plays an important role in keeping your system moving and “in working order.” 

Dietary fiber helps lower cholesterol levels, preventing heart disease and it also helps us avoid Type II diabetes, making it über important when we focus on hitting our carbohydrates for the day. In fact, when starting a flexible diet, you should focus on hitting your fiber number just as you would focus on hitting your other macros. Consider it another number to hit, if you will. 

So what types of fiber are there and why are they different?

• Insoluble Fiber - This is mostly found in whole-grain products, such as wheat bran cereal, vegetables and fruit. It provides “bulk” for stool formation and helps wastes move quickly through your colon. 

• Soluble Fiber - This is found in peas, beans, many vegetables and fruits, oat bran, whole grains, barley, cereals, seeds, rice, and some pasta, crackers, and other bakery products. It slows the digestion of carbohydrates, and can help stabilize blood sugar if you have diabetes. In addition, it helps lower “bad cholesterol.” This, in turn, reduces the risk of heart disease. 

Start looking at the labels on your foods for this information- you'll usually find it under "Carbohydrates" and it will also give you a % of your "DV". Daily Values (DV) are different for everyone, so while these labels give information, keep in mind you may need to adjust! Here's a simple calculation to keep in mind when looking at fiber and how much you should be ingesting on a daily basis: 

Body Wt (lbs) x 20-25% = DV of Fiber (g)

Example: 130lbs x 0.20 = 26g 

***Be advised: DO NOT EXCEED 60g of daily fiber to avoid bloating, gas, constipation, or loose poopies***

From here, you have a good starting point. I learned that my calculated daily fiber intake was a bit too much for my body, so I adjusted by decreasing it by a few grams. You may have to do the same, so just keep an eye on your daily dukies! The perfect #2 is one that just slips right out and wouldn't need a wipe (although you do anyway because...gross).

Okay...so it's pretty obvious fiber and poop are important, but how does this fit into a flexible diet?? 

Sometimes, people don't experience the results they are looking for when it comes to starting a flexible diet- namely, those who are looking to lose weight start saying, "Flexible dieting doesn't work... I'm not losing any fat!" WELL HANG ON THERE A DING DALLY SECOND!

Some people who start a flexible diet (and I admittedly did this too at first) go crazy when they realize they can have a LOT of their "indulgences" so long as it fit within their allotted macros. 

"These Pop Tarts fit!"

"These chili cheese fries fit!"

"These cookies fit!"

"These (insert calorie dense, non-nutritionally dense food) fit!"

The trouble with this (among many things) is that just because it fits, doesn't mean you are BALANCED. Just because your white chocolate cheese cake fits into your flexible diet does NOT mean you are getting the MICROnutrients your body needs and it doesn't mean you are getting the FIBER that you need either. Focusing on hitting your fiber each day helps you to achieve balance in your day to day diet. By focusing on your fiber intake, you end up eating foods that also have your micronutrients and therefore help you eat well. This helps your body stay in tip top shape to help you lose that fat.

So, in summary... Poop plays a huge role in knowing how well you are eating. If you're poopin' well (clean breaks into the toilet...you know what I'm talking about...), you can bet you're eating well. How can you ensure you're eating well enough? Focus on your fiber! Make sure you're hitting those numbers on TOP of your calculated macros! 

Want more hilarious poop information? Read this Buzz Feed article...

6 COMMON FLEXIBLE DIETING MISTAKES - RIKI LONG (GUEST BLOGGER!)

Riki Long is a CrossFit and weightlifting athlete with accolades that include appearances at the 2014 North East CrossFit Games Regionals and the 2014 American Open (48kg). Additional to being a great athlete, she is a fellow flexible dieter and coach as well!!

I had the incredible opportunity to meet Riki while competing in Miami, FL at Wodapalooza and it sorta went down like this:

Tiffany sees Riki….(Damn it, don’t be a weirdo!)…(Posts on Riki’s Instagram, “Hey we were in the same heat for the last WOD and stood in line together, but I didn’t wanna be creepy and scream ‘I FOLLOW YOU ON INSTAGRAM!’…”)

Needless to say, Riki was able to look past my awkwardness because we have since been able to chat back and forth about flexible dieting and it has been such a great learning experience. I’ve asked her to share some of her knowledge for Eat Ice Cream Get Abs, so below are her 6 common mistakes that flexible dieters make.

Be sure to follow her on Instagram (@lil_riki_) and check out her website (www.LilRikiFitness.com) for more information on her and flexible dieting!

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Fitness and dieting. We all have our own methods. Dieting seems to be the hardest part though, right? I mean we spend hours upon hours at the gym, whether its globo gym or a CrossFit Box, but our gainz (and losses) are still not reflecting our gym dedication! “Why don’t I have pecs like Rich Froning?” “ I want to snatch as much as Morghan King.” –What gives?   Dieting is hard because we make it hard. I want to talk about the 6 common mistakes people make when practicing flexible dieting. Fix these mistakes, and you are well on your way to being a macro counting pro:

1. NOT measuring their food in grams- “But the package says 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is 16 grams of fat, 6 grams of carbs and 6 grams of protein.” Correct, but if you see the back label, there is a number in the parentheses that probably says 32 grams in weight. A peanut butter connoisseur’s single tablespoon would most likely be bigger than the average person’s tablespoon. For accuracy and consistency, measure it out in grams. You’d be surprised by how much your single servings should look.
2. Forgetting to track supplements- In the beginning I neglected this for a month. Most athletes take some type of fish oil. Oil. What is oil? Fat, so it needs to be logged in. Even fiber capsules need to be logged, yes its fiber but we count all carbs, not just the net carbs.
3. Calorie dense versus volume- This is where people start abusing the flexible diet. I will have clients complaining to me that they are starving and I need to adjust their macros. Sometimes they’re not even on a cut! So the first thing I ask is for their food log:  What you see above is poor planning and calorie dense foods. Now, there is nothing wrong with consuming any of these foods, but now this person only has 100 calories to work with for dinner. Perhaps instead of the rice at lunch, this person could have had broccoli and saved some carbs for later. A quest bar is fine, but for a person that is only consuming 1300 calories per day, this is probably not the best idea. Plan your days ahead of time, eat for volume, and make sure you get in your micros before picking out bagels and quest bars.
4. Not planning- See above! I’m serious guys. The reason why so many people fail on their diets is because of piss poor planning. Don’t just wing it and then get mad at your coach because YOU didn’t hit your macros. Plan!
5. Not double checking MFP- Beware, friends! Some people out there only count calories, or net carbs. There are so many entries for bananas in the My Fitness Pal app. Which one do you use? First, look at the entries with the most confirmations, second be sure you can measure it in grams (not cups, length, number of bruises, etc.), and lastly, research that it is correct using the interwebs. This goes for the scanner too. I have scanned a loaf of bread and the company used the same exact bar code on their hotdog buns apparently. You can’t trust anyone!
6. Food avoidance- I stayed a “clean” eater for about two weeks until I had my first doughnut on flexible dieting, ahem, first six doughnuts…Yeah, I went hard in the paint. It didn’t stop there either; I was on a sugar high and ate any sugary, gluten filled processed treat I could get my hands on. When you taboo a food, you usually crave it more. This is how the binge process comes about. Be a STRICT dieter, not a RESTRICTED dieter.

Have questions about some of this?? ASK AWAY!!

WAITING FOR WEIGHT

I received an email from a client the other day asking me,

“If you have had them, how do you handle emotional days ? I have had a few.. And I am most vulnerable at bad choices during these days. For me.. I have been having more here lately. Sometimes the choices are not as bad as others. Any suggestions?”

At first I laughed hysterically because I think I’m probably one of the most emotional people on this planet. I’m that person who thinks a twisted ankle is the end of an athletic career and I’m also that person who could watch YouTube videos of kittens being rescued from trees and just cry about it out of pure joy and restoration of my faith in human kind. So HA! IF I have emotional days… Please, I could be a walking advertisement for Kleenex…

 

It was ironic to get this question because the psychological issues that surround food were topics I had been thinking about in the recent days. 

• Why is it so hard for some people to stick to a diet? 
• Why do MOST people quit? 
• Why it is easier for a doctor to prescribe medication when simple changes in diet and exercise could resolve SO MANY health issues??

While I don’t have clear cut answers for these questions, I think that the general answer is simply that results don’t come fast enough for people. 

Long gone are the days of waiting…for ANYTHING! Hell, I can’t go 5 minutes without checking my cell phone, but when I think about it, what did I do when cell phones weren’t so common? We all remember “dial-up internet”, right? (I just aged myself for sure right there) Internet was this new amazing thing and now we want to throw our lap top the second we see the little sand timer icon. We no longer have to wait for every day things in our lives, so why should we have to wait for weight?

  To answer the original question, though, I have emotional days ALL the time. Food is such a psychological issue that simply knowing that clean foods are good for you just isn’t enough to keep a person on the right path. 

Even the most strong willed people have bad days and make poor choices. Sometimes, eating 3 cups of ice cream is necessary to experience a catharsis that is somewhat therapeutic for the heart and soul. But the truth of the matter is, it all comes down to how much you want to reach your goals. 
What’s hard for me is that making a good choice doesn’t yield immediate results. If I choose to eat broccoli instead of a cookie, my body doesn’t get any healthier or more fit in that moment… it doesn’t even get healthier in the next week. I have to constantly remind myself that making good choices is an investment into my future self. Making a good choice is like putting $10 away into your savings account. Eventually, with enough good choices, that small dollar amount will grow…with interest! Every time you make a good choice, you take your mind through the exercise of being healthy which, in turn, primes your mind for making another good choice in the future. The more and more you practice making good choices, the easier it gets. Additionally, there is also research that proves the more exposure we have to specific foods, the more we end up having a preference for them over other foods. So the more often we eat “clean”, the easier it becomes over time. 
On the flip side, though… it’s important to understand that it’s COMPLETELY OKAY to have a bad day. Just like making a good choice doesn’t yield immediate results, a bad choice doesn’t make my body go to waste right away either. If I choose to eat a cookie instead of broccoli, my body doesn’t get any worse in that moment. Any type of body change (fat loss or weight gain) requires time and consistency. So don’t let yourself feel guilty- Allow yourself to feel empowered that you have complete control because you have the tools and knowledge to make the next choice a good one. 

Food is so weird and it takes up so much room in our heads, but it’s important to know that everyone has bad days. Being healthy is HARD. But what’s even harder is dealing with obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes… 

So the next time you find yourself in a slump reaching for your 4th pop tart, first ask yourself if it’s worth it. Sure, you won’t be set back from reaching your goals in that moment, but you sure aren’t getting any closer. Ask yourself if you will be guilt-free after eating it. Ask yourself if you will be regret-free it in 10 minutes. If your answers are YES, then by all means, tear into that pop tart!!! That tart won’t even KNOW what hit ’em! …But if your answers are NO, pump the brakes and make a different choice.

Being healthy is a result of repeated choices that are in the favor of, well, HEALTH! In order to be healthy, we must face challenges dealing with food and diet ALL the time. The more we practice making good choices, the more adept we are to continue this pattern of behavior. The more we continue this behavior, the less we have to wait to reach our goals!

 

MMMMACRONUTRIENTS! - PART 3 (CARBOHYDRATES)

NOM NOM FREAKING NOM! When we think of carbs, we think of delicious indulgences like cake, chips, cookies, waffles, toast, candy, crackers… It’s no wonder we love to eat carbs! A low carb diet? Kill me, right? That’s so hard when I’m over here drooling over French toast!

In the most recent of times, carbs have been given a bad reputation out there on the streets- they lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, they make you feel bloated, fluffy… The list goes on.

But I’m here to tell you that carbs are important! They are especially important for functional fitness athletes and those individuals looking to increase their lean muscle. Carbs can be your friend! And just like friends, it’s important to choose the quality of your carbs… Choosing good friends and carbs are both important :)

So why are carbs important?

Carbs mean energy! Carbs are the main source of energy for our bodies, not just for our gym activities, but also for our internal bodily functions! Carbs are needed for our nervous system, our kidneys, our brain, our muscles…everything! CARBS ARE GOOD!

But why are some diets high in carbs vs low in carbs? Well, here’s what I know:

• For fat loss: Your carb allotment will typically be lower than the rest of your macros. Why? Weight change boils down to one simple concept: If you can burn more calories than you consume, this will result in weight loss. If you burn less calories than you consume, this will result in weight gain. But why carbs? Why not protein? Remember the blog entry “Mmmmacronutrients – Part 2 (Protein)“? In there, I discussed that proteins are the building blocks for tissue and require energy to be built. In other words, protein synthesis (the act of putting the protein “building blocks” together to make something, like muscle) burns calories. The presence of the protein that we eat coupled with a good exercise program stimulates the body to work/burn calories and helps us lose body fat. In a lower carb diet, the body doesn’t readily have the energy it’s used to using to build proteins, so it goes to other macros for energy: FAT (and some protein too, but for now, just think fat).
  • Why can’t you eliminate carbs completely from a diet for weight loss? Remember that carbs = energy! If you are an athlete, lead an active lifestyle, or anything of that nature, carbs are even MORE important because we need an energy source for our proteins to be built! If I had a pile of bricks that I wanted to turn into a house, but I had no construction workers to help put the bricks together, my pile of bricks would just sit there. Eventually, they would just collect dirt and I’d have to store them away because they weren’t getting used. BUT if I had an entire crew of construction workers, the bricks would be lined, walls would be built, and I would eventually have my house! Well the same goes for proteins and carbs. If we consume proteins but no carbs, our body would not be able to build! The protein would just sit there and eventually they would be stored…. AS FAT.
• But what about for muscle gain? Your carb allotment will typically be more than the rest of your macros. Why? Well, taking the flip side of what we discussed about proteins and how they need carbs to be built, we need to fuel our protein synthesis like crazy when we are looking to bulk/gain. Plus, more calories IN than out, mean an increase in weight.

Not all carbs, however, are the same! I mean, YES, this is Flexible Dieting which means “if it fits then you can eat it”, BUT if you’re REALLY looking to lose fat or be healthy in general, you better brush up on what your “good” carbs are! Here are some of my favorite carb choices- some are better for you than others, and I’ll go into why…

• SWEET POTATO – Zero fat, packed with fiber, Vitamin A, and Vitamin C, the sweet potato presents as one of the best choices for carbs. It’s a fave of mine and a huge bag at Costco is only around $6. They keep for a very long time if you take a hiatus from them so it’s always worth the money.
• BROCCOLI – Zero fat and packed with the same stuff as sweet potato, the only down side is that you have to eat quite a bit of broccoli to reach any sufficient amount of carbohydrate. This can get tough- and if your digestive track isn’t used to broccoli…. well, let’s just say it’s one of the gassiest foods on the market.
• DRIED FRUIT – Also packed with fiber, fruits are Mother Nature’s candy. Watch out, though, they contain a lot of sugar, which you don’t want a whole lot of. I like to eat the dried mangos.
• OATMEAL – A super easy way to get your carbs in with not a lot of volume. Low in fat, high in iron.
• WAFFLES – I personally am in love with Eggo’s lately. The small squares that hold my sugar free syrup are perfect for storing all the flavor… A box of 72 waffles at Costco is only $10!!! CARB IT UP! Obviously NOT the healthiest of choices, but they make for a delicious treat every now and then. I like to put some fat free ice cream on top of a waffle and drizzle honey on it all for dessert. YUM :)

Those are my favorites… what about you??

MMMMACRONUTRIENTS! - PART 2 (PROTEINS)

Proteins can be one of the hardest macronutrients to meet when starting a flexible diet. In a world where carbs and fats are easily accessible, convenient, inexpensive, and delicious… well OF COURSE meeting protein numbers is going to be hard!

So why are proteins so important?

• They help with enzyme and hormone production (among other bodily chemicals)
• They are the building blocks of bone, cartilage, and tissue (like muscle!)

For athletes, getting enough protein is HUGE in recovering from your daily training schedules- they are, after all, the building blocks for our muscles. The typical and general explanation can be understood as this: During a workout/training session, your body utilizes muscle and breaks it down. In order for your body to be just as strong or even stronger by your next training session and in the future, you need to re-build this muscle tissue. Well you can’t rebuild if you don’t have your building materials (PROTEIN)!

For others on a flexible diet, maybe your goal is to lose fat, lose weight, lean out, etc… well protein is just as important for this process as it is in your recovery after the gym!! For weight loss, your body needs to burn energy/burn calories/workworkwork! What better way to make your body work than by giving it a job to do: BUILD! Think of protein as a bunch of bricks that need to be a house- as you build this wall, brick by brick, you’re using up energy- BURNING CALORIES. By consuming protein, your body is now saying, “I need to do something with this… let’s get to work.” Typically (and against common belief), in a weight loss plan, your protein numbers are actually going to be higher than a weight gain plan. I’ll be going into this reasoning in the blog entry Mmmmacronutrients – Carbohydrates (Part 3).

Here are some good proteins to add into your diet:

• Meat – This is a pretty obvious one if you were born in this millennia. Meat is a main source of protein for many of us and if we are looking to build muscle or maintain our lean muscle mass, it only makes sense to eat muscle tissue! When incorporating meat into your diet, it’s important to remember that animal protein can contain a good deal of fat. Just be sure to count the fat too! Some of my favorite meats:
  • Beef – can be high in fat dependent on the cut.
  • Salmon – fats from salmon are the good kind! This makes salmon a good source of healthy fats too!
  • Cod – nearly zero fat making it a good source of JUST protein when you need it.
  • Chicken Thigh – I think a lot of people think dark meat is “bad” and therefore lean more towards chicken breast or white meat. Chicken breast is really hard for me to enjoy and, really, the only reason it’s considered “healthy” is due to a low fat content. But that’s the beauty of flexible dieting: I can eat fat if it fits!
• Greek Yogurt – I like getting the non-fat plain greek yogurt which is 0 fat a few carbs and loads of protein. Doing this allows me to control for how much “other stuff” can be put into it. For example, instead of buying greek yogurt with fruit already in it, I can buy the plain greek yogurt and add my own. I can add fruit, I can add honey, OR if I want to limit my sugars/carbs, I actually put stevia into it for a 0 carb 0 calories sweetener.
• Cottage Cheese – Similar to greek yogurt for me in the sense that I eat it pretty much the same way.
• Peanut Butter – This becomes super handy when I need protein AND fat. Goes on anything or I can just eat a spoonful of it!
• Protein Powder – A SUPER easy way to meet your macros because you can literally pour out how much you need. I usually have 1-3 protein shakes per day, but if you’re looking to have less, then I suggest just having this in the house so you can top off your macro tank at the end of the day with whatever protein you have left to reach. My favorite protein powders: Pro7ein Synthesis, Forzo Pro Protein, and Xendurance Extreme Xecute… all 3 products I purchase atNutrishop South Valley.

Are you a vegetarian? Vegan? Here are some other options for protein sources!

BE CAREFUL- many foods advertise as having protein content but some foods only contain incomplete proteins. This can apply more for vegetarians or vegans, but regardless, you want to be sure you eat COMPLETE proteins! What are complete vs incomplete proteins?  Click the question to read an article about the difference, but I’ll be blogging about that in the future too :)

So what proteins work for you? Leave a comment and let other people know!

MMMMACRONUTRIENTS! - PART 1 (FATS)

The most common questions I get when people begin their new flexible diet are usually related to finding foods that contain their specific macro need.

“I need something that’s fatty/carby/proteiny…”

If you’re following a flexible diet, I’m sure you can heavily relate to this. Usually, this happens at the end of our day when, although we’ve carefully planned out our entire day’s worth of food, we are left with a few grams of this or a few grams of that. And if you’re new to the flexible dieting game, finding these foods can be hard!

Well fear not! The next few blog entries will be about my “go-to” foods with a little explanation why I think they’re so good. Sometimes, foods are good because they’re convenient, other times, they’re good because they’ve got awesome nutritional properties, and sometimes, they’re in between!

Check out the list below and if you have any “go-to” foods of your own, leave a comment so other people can give it a go!

FATS

If you are brand new not only to Flexible Dieting, but also to structured and healthy eating, you’ve probably been taught that fat is bad; that it leads to weight gain and a slew of other ailments like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, etc. While there is some truth to that, there is also truth in what has been deemed “good fats” that are actually good FOR you! Good fats help regulate our moods, they help fight fatigue, and can even help with weight loss! The key to fats in our diet isn’t to eliminate it, but to choose the right kind.

1. GHEE – If you have no clue what this is, that’s okay! I was recently introduced to it and as I read more and more about this stuff, I started realizing how amazing it is for you!! Ghee is clarified butter- basically, all of the water and milk is cooked out of the butter, leaving only the purest form of it! Good ghee is made from organic, pasture-raised, grass-fed cows.
   • HEALTH BENEFITS: improved digestion, decreased inflammation, rich in Vitamins A, D, E, K, weight LOSS, decreased risk of heart disease…
   • WHERE TO GET IT: I bought my current jar of ghee at Whole Foods made by Purity Farms. Ghee won’t be sold in your standard grocery store unfortunately, but any whole foods or farmer’s market type place should have it. You can also order it online as well!
   • HOW TO EAT IT: You can use ghee in anything you’d use butter for! It has a high smoking point making it awesome to cook with, you can melt it on top of bread, you can can even eat it by itself (although I wouldn’t recommend it- I’ve tried). I usually put 2-3 teaspoons of it in my bulletproof coffee in the morning- DELISH.
2. GRASS FED BUTTER – Similar to ghee, this is regular butter made from grass-fed cows as well. It’s got many of the same health benefits as ghee, but it a little bit easier to spread (since it still contains the water and milk contents vs the clarified butter). This is a bit more affordable than ghee.
   • HEALTH BENEFITS: Similar to ghee!
   • WHERE TO GET IT: Again, grass-fed butter won’t usually be found at your standard grocery store. You are sure to find it at stores described above such as Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and any farmer’s market. Some brands to look for (that I’ve tried): Kerrygold Irish Butter and Organic Valley.
   • HOW TO EAT IT: Just like ghee! Again, it’s easier to spread, so this may be a good one for bread, waffles, etc. Again, I wouldn’t recommend eating it on its own- but I’ve tried it…
3. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL – You know what this is and I’m sure you’ve cooked with it in the past at LEAST.
4. HEAVY WHIPPING CREAM – Yep, you read right… whipping cream. The stuff they put into the bottle with the little N2O charger attached to the handle to make whipped cream that goes on top of your Frappuccino. This stuff is SO good in coffee, so good on its own, and just….well… tasty.
   • HEALTH BENEFITS: Unfortunately, this isn’t really the best form of fat, so take it in small quantities. I put it on this list because it’s often time convenient, cheap, and easy to add to so many things.
   • WHERE TO GET IT: You can get a half gallon at Costco. I don’t because I can’t possibly drink that much heavy whipping cream and stay within my macros before it spoils. You can easily find this at any grocery store in almost any size up to a quart. It’s cheap and easy to find making it a convenient fat.
   • HOW TO EAT IT: I’m sure you’ve got ideas…
5. AVOCADO – Unlike the other fats listed above that are ONLY fat, avocado has other macro properties, so you have to remember to add them in.
   • HEALTH BENEFITS: SO high in fiber and filled with good fats!
   • WHERE TO GET IT: I hate that avos are so damn expensive. One time, I found them at the Ghetto Grocery Store (as my old roommate called it) for $0.50 each- AND THEY WERE GOOD STILL. Since then, my price standard for avos increased to a level where every time I see them at the grocery store for $1.99+, I rarely allow myself to buy them anymore. I’ve bought them at Costco, 6 for $6.99 a few times.
   • HOW TO EAT IT: By itself, with salted sunflower seeds, guacamole, with mayo (more fat!), with an egg cooked in it, on a salad… the list goes on.

This list is short, but just a few of my “go-to” fats. It’s important to remember that FATS CAN BE FRIENDS! Through flexible dieting, we learn to eat in moderation and through good choices, we can maintain a healthy lifestyle!!

What are your “go-to” fats? What works for you??

DO'S AND DON'TS FOR FLEXIBLE DIETING

The following are tips (from personal experience) that will make this journey just a little less difficult:

DO’s

1. Do include your supplements that have macro properties into My Fitness Pal – Examples of this include fish oils, protein, etc. If it has macro’s, log it!
2. Do check My Fitness Pal: MFP has a way of changing your total calories on you as you lose/gain weight. For example, if you enter that you gained 2 lbs, and your goals in MFP are to lose weight, MPF will CHANGE YOUR TOTAL CALORIES in an effort to help you continue to lose weight. This is quite thoughtful, but drives a flexible dieter CRAZY!!! The point of macro tracking is to make sure you hit the same numbers every day, which is hard if MFP changes your total calories, thus changing your macro allotment.
3. Celebrate the little successes – So you haven’t lost weight, but you’ve hit 3 PRs (Personal Records) in the gym this week! FU*K YES! Or maybe you’ve gained weight, but you’re looking in the mirror and your stomach is looking flatter?! CELEBRATION!!! Don’t always think about the number on the scale- as cliche as that sounds. Take into consideration other things that are the result of your hard work and flexible dieting: how you feel, how you perform, what your friends are saying about how you look, etc… Take those WINS and celebrate!

DON’Ts

1. Don’t enter foods into My Fitness Pal that have trace amounts or 0 macro properties – For example, black coffee has 0 carbs, 0 fats, and 0 proteins according to MFP. So even though it’s 5 calories, it has no macro value and is therefore a waste of time to enter. Simply enter in the sugar and cream (if you do that)! Of course, you CAN add it if you WANT TO, but I tend to leave it out just because it won’t matter in the big scheme of things for me.
2. Don’t enter in your exercise to MFP – Adding exercise to MFP will add extra calories into your daily allotted calories which will change the number of macros you are allowed to eat (according to MFP). Remember the point of macro tracking is the hit the SAME numbers every day. If you enter in your exercise, you end up throwing those numbers off.
3. Don’t worry about total calories – Total calories is something to NOT worry about when tracking your macros. Theoretically, it should all even out and if you hit your macro numbers, your calories SHOULD read 0 by the end of the day, but sometimes it doesn’t. THAT’S OKAY. It’s okay for you to be under or over your calories, so long as you are hitting your macros. SO- IGNORE THE CALORIES (When did you ever think you could say THAT?!)
4. Don’t be too hard on yourself – Yes, it’s important to hit your numbers, but life happens. Take it all in stride and know that it’s not the end of the world to have a bad eating day. Flexible dieting is wonderful because it’s something you can end up doing for a lifetime, so one bad day among a lifetime of eating? NO BIG DEAL. Get back at it the next day… or maybe the day after… :)

Email me with questions as you have them! Coming soon: FAQs!

Interested in joining the next group? Email me! eaticecreamgetabs@gmail.com You should have a response within 1-2 days :)

ONE BAD DAY AIN'T NO THANG

I was talking with a friend of mine who’s also giving this whole flexible dieting thing a “go” and she was telling me how she was feeling a bit discouraged lately.

“This weekend was hard for me and I want to get back at it. I need to lose this dang weight. I’m so tired of being fat.”

I think we can all relate to this statement in some way or another. At some point, we’ve all felt like our nutrition wasn’t top notch, or our food choices were poor. How many times have we said to ourselves before, “I REALLY shouldn’t have eaten that…” Or “Ugh, I ate WAY too much…” Or even more recently, how many times have we been down on ourselves about our macros? “I SO did NOT hit my macros today!!”

It’s important to remember that bad days happen. While they can seem like they set us back by a mile or more, they happen. BUT at the same time, here’s another way to think about the whole concept of a new diet:

One day of good eating isn’t good enough to get you the results you want, right?  Well the same goes for bad days- one bad day of eating isn’t good enough to set you back. Whether you are eating right or eating poorly, your outcome is always going to be the result of time and consistency. Do you spend more time eating well? Or do you spend more time eating poorly?

On weekends, I tend to be looser with my macros sometimes and what keeps me feeling guilt-free is the fact that one or two messed up days aren’t going to set me back. On that same note however, one day of eating my macros down to the last gram won’t make me meet my goals either. Meeting my goals takes TIME and CONSISTENCY.

Time and consistency are the 2 things to keep in mind as you continue to follow a flexible diet. As long as you have these 2 things in mind, you can rest assured that you are at least always heading in the right direction.

TIME AND CONSISTENCY!!

HATERS GON' HATE

Yep… the second some of your friends see you bring out the food scale to measure that brownie you’re about to eat, you’re going to hear it.

“Dude, just eat the stupid brownie.”

“Uh…what. are. you doing.”

“Seriously? Why are you even weighing that? It’s not going to matter.”

“I can’t believe you even do that. I could never live like that.”

You’re going to hear it all. People who don’t understand your goals, ambitions, and priorities will NOT understand why you and your food scale have become BFFs. In all honesty, though, what they think shouldn’t matter… but you already knew that :)

What I’ve found to help me stay focused and successful with flexible dieting (other than not caring what people think about my food scale) is to surround myself with a good and healthy support system. You want to be around people that will lift you up and not bash you when you’re carefully pouring half and half into your coffee one tablespoon at a time. The last thing you want to hear when you’re trying something new and different is, “(eye roll) Really?” People who say those things are going to bring you down and make you more likely to make poor choices. Eyes on the prize, people!

I have had countless evenings of coming home, too tired from work and the gym, to prepare a meal on top of figuring out how many macros I had left to eat for the day. Luckily, my support system at home is just that – SUPPORTIVE- and encourages me to get my ass off the couch and helps me prepare a meal that fits my macros. During those times, I could easily say, “Fu*k it, I’m just going to heat up whatever’s left over in the fridge,” but I don’t. My support system could easily say the same thing to avoid dealing with me whining about my stupid macros, but he doesn’t. He doesn’t because he is supportive- and I encourage you to surround yourself with those people: positive, supportive, and healthy people.

If you have to, let your friends or family members know that this is important to you! It sounds cheesy, but seriously, you want to create an environment around yourself that is conducive to a successful flexible diet. Another way to create a good support system is to let them join you!! Have kids? Let them weigh their food; let them practice making good food choices! There are just countless ways to find good supports in all aspects of our lives.

So… let them roll their eyes and laugh. Let them call you insane. But when you’re chillin’ and relaxin’ with your ice cream and abs, they’ll probably end up asking you how you did it :)